
1939
Mondovi, Wisconsin
The Mississippi Welders Supply Company (MWSCO) that you see today was born in 1939 in Mondovi, Wisconsin. From this original location, a network of dedicated Driver-Salesmen served customers in southeastern Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and northeastern Iowa.

1966
Expansion to Winona, Minnesota
With so much territory to cover, it eventually made sense to add another location and the company was expanded to include a Winona, MN store in 1966.
1973-1976
New Ownership and Expansion
In the summer of 1973, Don Peterson bought the company with two partners. He and Donna moved their family to Winona to take the helm of MWSCO. New stores were added: La Crosse, WI in 1973, Red Wing, MN in 1974, and Rochester, MN in 1976. The Driver-Salesmen were then able to cover an even broader territory and an expanding network of local stock points was also implemented.

1991
Brad Peterson Joins the Company
In the fall of 1991, the Peterson’s oldest son Brad joined the company. Brad had worked in the business while in high school and college, but had taken 4 years to get his degree, and another 8 in the US Navy, serving as a nuclear-trained surface warfare officer. Under his leadership, the MWSCO tradition of growth and expansion not only continued, but accelerated.
1992 - 1999
A period of rapid growth and expansion
A period of rapid growth and expansion followed in 1992. Having outgrown its original building in Winona, the store and warehouse were moved to the current location. The Winona location serves as the company headquarters and includes the central warehouse, gas filling plant and main office, in addition to a 2,000 square foot retail store.
The Rochester store moved to another location in 1993 with additional warehouse space added in 2001 to better serve customers in that region.
La Crosse and Red Wing branches were also bursting at the seams and followed suit. The La Crosse store moved to its current address in 1997. In 1999, a new building was constructed to house the Red Wing store.

1999
Welcome to Iowa!
Late 1999, the decision was made to open a brand new store in Decorah, IA due to customer demand in our southern territory.
2000
Hudson Here We Come
Our customers' need for more lead to the opening of a store in Hudson, WI in the fall of 2000. This store was expanded and a dramatic face-lift done in 2014, greatly expanding the store and warehouse.

2003
We Go Live Online with eCommerce
Weldfabulous.com started as an eBay store. Today, it is its own eCommerce webstore, offering 70K+ products and shipping to customers, coast-to-coast and even some internationally.

2004
New Industrial Gas Filling Facility
In keeping with the family orientation of the business, the Peterson’s youngest son, Jeff, joined the company in 2001. He took on the day-to-day operation of the Fill Plant and overseeing the design and building of a new industrial gas filling facility, which was completed in Winona in 2004. Jeff was mobilized as a US Navy Reservist in 2011 through 2015.
Store Opens in Marshfield, WI

2006
Store Opens in Altoona, WI

2008
Store Opens in Rothschild (Wausau), WI

2012
Store Opens in Mankato, MN

2014
Store Opens In Madison, WI

2015
Jane Kennedy Joins MWSCO
One more sibling, Jane, joins MWSCO as IT Director.

2017
MWSCO opens the Automation and Robotics Lab
The world is changing fast and automation is in high demand. MWSCO opens the Automation and Robotics Lab across the street from headquarters in Winona, MN. This laboratory is full with specialized equipment and a team of experts are available to demo and conduct training sessions.

2019
MWSCO invests in Absolute Air
MWSCO, in partnership with four other local independent companies, invest in a new, state-of-the-art air separation company, Absolute Air. Located in Faribault, Minnesota, this investment will assure an ongoing source of supply for customers’ Nitrogen, Oxygen and Argon requirements.

2022
MWSCO opens branch in Appleton, WI
With business growing, MWSCO made the decision to branch out towards the Fox Valley area.
Rochester and Mankato branches moved into new locations with bigger showrooms and warehouse to meet growing demands.